Social media is an essential component of today’s integrated marketing campaigns. In fact, sometimes social media can run the entire tone of a campaign. Savvy brands realize that social media (such as Twitter and Facebook) are a great way to speak one-to-one with consumers, building rapport and gaining trust. Using a friendly tone on Twitter can help brands build attention and gain new followers – many of whom eventually become new customers.

While not all marketers are comfortable yet with the new media, some brands have fully embraced it. Remember this year’s Super Bowl power black-out? Oreo took advantage of the event to tweet news flashes (“You can still dunk in the dark”), and even incorporated it into their more mainstream advertising. Oreo and AMC Theaters also got into a fake fight when the cookie brand tweeted a question about whether people had ever brought their own Oreos to a movie theater!

Oreo isn’t alone in its social media efforts. Among some of the other tweeting brands are KFC and Cap’n Crunch – who bantered with each other when KFC tweeted that Cap’n Crunch was a “has been.” Cap’n Crunch was quick to reply that he had better things to do since he was currently “dealing with the @USNavy” and had no time for dealing with “boneless chickens.”

Follow a brand and see what you learn about how it reacts to social media interactions.

Group Activities and Discussion Questions:

Have students find examples of similar brands and campaigns.

Either individually or in teams, have students select a brand to follow on Twitter for one week (or longer).

At the end of the time period, have each student/team report on how each brand utilized Twitter.

What ads did they see following the brand? What were messages from company? From individual users?

What recommendations do students have for utilizing Twitter effectively?